


My Wings Have Broken In Your Hands (I've Been Waiting For You)

by CycloneRachel



Category: Krypton (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Season 3 Speculation, Short One Shot, i'm sorry this is purely self-indulgent, if there is one?, mentioned Brainiac - Freeform, season 2 finale spoilers, we'll see but if there is I hope this happens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 05:19:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20252800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CycloneRachel/pseuds/CycloneRachel
Summary: Or, the one where Seg gets another ally in his quest to save Jor-El, even if that ally isn't one he asked for or expected.





	My Wings Have Broken In Your Hands (I've Been Waiting For You)

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by an idea from tumblr/twitter user ElektraWWF! I hope you're reading this, Elektra, and if you are, I hope you enjoy! Thank you!

After being dragged into the Phantom Zone, and then almost being bodyjacked, Seg had had enough of Brainiac.

He’d lived with him in his head for far too long, just to make matters worse, and then, worst of all, once they were separated Brainiac had the gall to steal his son from him. Seg had just gotten to see him, and hold him, for the first time… but Brainiac apparently couldn’t let him have nice things.

So, when he came face-to-face with another Brainiac, even one who looked far different from the original, Seg didn’t think anyone could blame him for being suspicious.

“I’m certain that this must be disorienting for you. My name is-“

_“Brainiac.”_

“Yes! How did you- uh-oh.”

The new Brainiac barely had time to hold up his hands in defense before Seg came hurtling towards him, ready and willing to use all that he’d learned from Lyta to take him down. Sure, he hadn’t fared as well against Zod as he’d hoped, but Zod was a general. Brainiac… well, he was a conqueror, but his skills lay in his technology. If Seg wasn’t a better fighter than him…

He wasn’t going to think about that. The point was, he was going to make this Brainiac give him answers, or he might as well just do nothing at all. Let Brainiac take Jor-El and just wait for the timeline to be changed and for his son to come back all Brainiac-ized, looking like a carbon copy of him and taking Kandor in a bottle just to see his father trapped for his own enjoyment.

For Rao’s sake, maybe this _was_ his son. Maybe he’d been somatically reconditioned, corrupted, genetically modified…

He didn’t want to imagine the possibilities, but he almost had to anyway.

“Please calm down!” the Brainiac shouted, and Seg’s hand skimmed off of the area in front of him.

“Personal force field belt.” He explained calmly, once Seg had been knocked back. “One of my inventions- and, I dare say, one of the most effective. Now, if you would please listen to me…”

“What makes you think I should?” Seg asked. “You took my son from me. My hope for the future- my Jor-El. And you think I want to listen to you?”

“No.”

The Brainiac shook his head, recomposing himself and looking at Seg in a way that made him think he should be more relaxed- but, of course, he wasn’t.

“Then why are you talking to me anyway?”

“You’ve made it quite clear that you would rather not hear a thing I say. And I respect that, given your past history with my ancestor.” The Brainiac said, taking a breath, smoothing out his uniform. “But what I meant to say was that I didn’t take your son. And I’ve never wanted to listen to him either.”

“Well, that doesn’t make any sense.”

“It would if you let me explain. I am trying to make it abundantly clear to you, Seg-El.”

“Make what clear?”

“Brainiac- the first of his clan- is my ancestor, it’s true. But though I at first strayed down his dark path, the path of all my past family members… it is you, and your family, who brought me into the light. You- the House of El- are my inspirations, and I want nothing more than to see Jor-El safe again.”

“You do?”

“Yes, of course.” He said. “We have more similar goals than you think. I belong to an organization called the Legion of Superheroes, built on the legacy of the House of El and meant to follow their examples as heroes in the 31st century. You have all right to not believe me-“

“Yeah, you’re soundin’ pretty unbelievable right about now.”

“But I truly want to help you. My name is Querl Dox, and my… simply stated, I am Brainiac 5. And I’m here to save Jor-El.”

Seg stared at him, trying to make sense of everything. This man- who looked scarcely older than him, blond hair, green skin, Brainiac symbol on his purple and black uniform that also had another unrecognizable symbol on the belt- was the fifth Brainiac. He wanted to assist him in his mission. He wasn’t like the others…

Seg could hardly imagine one other Brainiac, let alone four. But this one, Brainiac 5, was so different that he almost believed him.

Then again, wasn’t one of his friends from 200 years in the future himself? Hadn’t he spent almost the past year dealing with his own son, come back from that same time to conquer Krypton and take over the universe? What was another one thousand years ahead of that among friends, or even enemies?

He'd trusted one time traveler, who'd said he wanted to help save his grandson when his life was threatened. Why should this situation be any different?

“What do you get from this?” Seg asked. “What do you _really_ want?”

Brainiac 5 blinked.

“To begin with, the timeline will remain intact.” He said. “If Jor-El is not safe, my future is in jeopardy, and my Legion may cease to exist. No- it will cease to exist, until we do something to make certain he is returned to you. But first, you have to trust me.”

“You really aren’t getting anything for yourself out of this, huh?”

“I don’t need to. The thought that I could help you is more than enough.”

Seg sighed.

_He’s just my age,_ he thought. _Too young to deal with that asshole for a relative. And he already seems to like me. What could go wrong?_

“Well, first of all, you seem far less likely to stab me in the back than Lobo.” He said. “Even though you’re laying the praise on really thick. And, as much as I didn’t want to, you sound like you know what you’re talking about. But, know this, Brainiac 5- you lie to me, or betray my trust in any way, we’re done.”

“I’m aware.” Brainiac 5 said. “And I would never even consider lying to you.”

“Then we have a deal.” Seg answered, sticking his hand out. Brainiac 5 shook it, daring a tiny smile at him that Seg couldn’t help but return. “Where do we start looking?”

“Based on my calculations, there is _one_ planet that's the most statistically likely…”


End file.
